Cooling device having a condensation water channel

ABSTRACT

A cooling device having a housing, an ice passage that extends through a wall of the housing, and a condensation water channel that extends from the outer end of the ice passage downward in the interior of the wall.

The present invention relates to a cooling device having an ice dispenser.

In cooling devices having an integrated ice maker, an ice dispenser generally comprises a passage routed through a housing wall, in particular the door, of the cooling device, it being possible to close off its outer end by means of a flap, in order to prevent warm air passing through the passage into the interior of the cooling device when the ice dispenser is not in use. The flap is thermally insulated and has a seal running round the flap, so that when the flap is closed, the ice dispenser can be protected as effectively as possible from warm air entering from the outside. Normally the flap is only opened when ice is to be dispensed from the ice dispenser.

When ice, in particular crushed ice, is dispensed, ice residues can remain behind in the passage, which melt and collect as water at the lower end of the passage in front of the closed flap. Also when ice cubes are agitated from time to time in the ice maker, to prevent them freezing together, ice residues can get into the passage and melt. And finally moisture can collect in the passage due to condensation, in particular from warm outside air getting into the passage when ice is dispensed. The seal closing off the edges of the flap means that this water is unable to flow away but builds up behind the closed flap. When the flap moves slightly, as can happen for example when the device door is being closed due to a brief rise in pressure in the interior of the cooling device, the condensation water present can run out of the lower end of the passage and then has to flow down toward a dispensing recess of the ice dispenser.

There is generally a drip tray located at the base of the dispensing recess, to catch small quantities of water resulting when ice is removed. If the cooling device also comprises a drinking water dispenser, which is normally arranged in the same dispensing recess as the ice dispenser, it is also possible for an excess of water after drinking water has been dispensed, which drips from a dispensing valve arranged above the drip tray directly down into the drip tray, to be caught there. Such an arrangement is described in the patent specification U.S. Pat. No. 6,708,518 B1, which uses a water drain connected to the drip tray to direct the water from the drip tray into the interior of the cooling device, collects it in a tray and causes it to evaporate there.

The drip tray is in principle also suitable for receiving the condensation water from the passage. However since the lower end of the passage ends at a rear wall of the dispensing recess, the condensation water cannot drip from the passage into the drip tray but runs down along the rear wall. In the long term this causes limescale on the rear wall of the ice and drinking water dispenser, which adversely affects the appearance of the cooling device and is unpleasant for the user of the device. One possible solution here would be for the lower end of the passage to project slightly beyond the rear wall of the dispensing recess and end in an apron molded in place there, so that the condensation water would actually drip away there. This would prevent the limescale but the continuous dripping onto the drip tray would mean that the condensation water would produce noise which would also be irritating for a user.

The object of the present invention is therefore to specify a cooling device, in which condensation water can be drained imperceptibly and reliably from the ice passage of the ice dispenser.

This object is achieved by a cooling device having a housing and an ice passage extending through a wall of the housing, which encompasses a condensation water channel, which extends downward in the interior of the wall from an outer end of the ice passage. Because the condensation water channel conducts the condensation water away in the interior of the wall, the condensation water can be drained in a manner that cannot be perceived by a user of the cooling device. In particular it is possible to prevent water traces, in particular limescale, being deposited in a visible manner on the outside of the wall.

The condensation water channel here preferably extends between an outer skin and an insulating layer of the wall. As it is not necessary to cool the condensation water as it flows away, the condensation water channel can be conducted outside the insulating layer and can be covered by the outer skin. The insulating layer of the wall can thus remain closed in the region of the condensation water channel.

If the insulating layer of the wall has a watertight layer toward the condensation water channel, it is possible in particular to prevent insulating material becoming saturated with condensation water and the characteristics of the material changing.

Advantages in respect of the manufacture of the cooling device result if the condensation water channel is used as a cable channel at least over some of its length. It is thus possible to use cutouts in the wall provided for supply lines as a channel for draining condensation water at the same time, simplifying the shaping of components.

If the ice passage opens into a dispensing recess in the wall of the housing, the condensation water channel is preferably concealed behind a rear wall of the dispensing recess, so that the condensation water can drain away unnoticed. Any measures for directing or catching the condensation water in order to discharge the condensation water reliably, which are not to be perceived by a user of the device, can be performed behind the rear wall of the dispensing recess. Also no further visible containers or lines, which could adversely affect the visual appearance of the cooling device, are required to catch the condensation water.

It is also advantageous for the energy efficiency of the cooling device, if the outer end of the ice passage can be closed off by means of a flap. It is thus possible to prevent a sustained introduction of heat from outside into an interior of the cooling device.

In order reliably to prevent the condensation water depositing water traces below the ice passage, a drip edge is preferably formed by the outer end of the ice passage and/or by a lower edge of the flap. This allows the condensation water to drip into the condensation water channel and prevents it running along a wall of the dispensing recess above the condensation water channel into said condensation water channel so that water traces on the wall can be avoided here too.

If a collection region, which at least largely collects the condensation water dripping off the drip edge, is provided below the drip edge, the condensation water is defined locally in a simple manner.

It is particularly favorable if the collection region is configured as an inlet for the condensation water channel.

If an indentation is provided on a cover of the dispensing recess, in which indentation the outer end of the ice passage, the flap and an inlet of the condensation water channel are arranged, these parts of the ice dispenser can be concealed from a user. The problem of condensation water drainage is completely imperceptible, particularly because the inlet of the condensation water channel is not visible.

An advantageous structure of the cooling appliance also results if the dispensing recess is structured in a multilayered manner from a molded part and a panel covering the molded part, with the rear wall of the dispensing recess being formed by the panel. The molded part can form a substructure for the dispensing recess, containing all the structurally necessary depressions and projections and on which the panel of the dispensing recess can be positioned separately. The molded part here can also comprise the insulating layer or can cover or seal off the insulating layer as a separate part in the direction of the dispensing recess. Because the rear wall is formed by the panel, the condensation water can run down in an intermediate space between the rear wall and the molded part so that additional separate lines are not required.

If the molded part extends in particular at least along a rear face and below a base of the dispensing recess, it is possible to prevent a gap forming between adjacent components, through which the draining condensation water can enter the cooling device in an unwanted manner due to a capillary effect.

It is also particularly advantageous if a cable groove is embedded in a base of the molded part and at least one traverse extending over the base is arranged on the molded part adjacent to the cable groove. The condensation water running along the molded part can collect in the cable groove, it being possible for a barrier for the condensation water to be formed by the traverse along a surface of the molded part, so that said condensation water can be conducted specifically into the cable groove and does not flow randomly out over the base.

Advantages in respect of the manufacture of the molded part result here, if the traverse is attached to the base by means of an adhesive. The traverse itself is preferably formed by adhesive and can be easily applied to the base of the molded part in any desired form in the manner of a hot melt adhesive coating so that no further separate components are required to manufacture the molded part.

The cable groove of the molded part preferably opens into a cable channel, which is conducted down from the dispensing recess for example along a device door. It is thus possible to use a cable channel known per se, which conventionally conducts supply lines for an ice dispenser, to drain the condensation water away through this. No additional water line is therefore necessary, which would require further structural changes. Since the quantity of condensation water to be drained away is small and there is still space available in the cable channel despite a cable being conducted there, the condensation water can reliably flow away through it.

If the cable channel opens at a lower end into an evaporation tray, this also has the advantage that the condensation water can collect there and can be made to evaporate by waste heat from the cooling appliance. It is thus possible to achieve completely maintenance-free discharge of the condensation water.

Further features and advantages of the invention will emerge from the description which follows of exemplary embodiments with reference to the accompanying figures, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a schematic section through an inventive cooling device with an ice dispenser;

FIG. 2 shows a schematic section through a dispensing recess of the ice dispenser;

FIG. 3 shows a section along a plane A-A from FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 shows a section along the plane A-A with the panel of the dispensing recess removed;

FIG. 5 shows a schematic diagram of a cutout from the door of the cooling device, viewed from the front; and

FIG. 6 shows a perspective schematic diagram of a lower rear region of a door of the inventive cooling device.

The cooling device shown in a schematic section in FIG. 1 has a thermally insulating body 1 and a door 2, which bound an interior 3. The interior 3 is cooled by an evaporator, which is housed in an evaporator chamber 4, which is compartmentalized in the upper region of the body 1.

An automatic ice maker 5 is arranged in direct proximity to the evaporator chamber 4 in the interior 3. Below the ice maker 5 is a collector 6, which catches ice cubes made by the ice maker 5. A conveyor screw 7 on the base of the collector 6 serves to convey ice cubes to an outlet 8 at the door end of the collector 6.

A recess 12 is formed in a central region of the door 2, in which a user can position a container to dispense ice from the collector 6. An upper wall of the recess 12 lies below the outlet 8 of the collector 6. A tubular or funnel-shaped passage, also referred to as the ice chute 9, extends through this wall. The ice chute 9 is generally blocked at its lower end by a thermally insulating flap 18, so that warm air from the recess 12 cannot pass through the ice chute 9 of the cooling device.

FIG. 2 shows a section through the recess 12 and through the regions of the cooling device adjacent to the recess 12, the flap 18 resting against the lower end of the ice chute 9 in a closed position.

The flap 18 comprises an insulating body 22 shaped essentially as a flat cylinder. The body 22 rests closely against an outlet opening 23 of the ice chute 9 in the position shown. Circumferential heating wires 21 are arranged around the body 22 to prevent the body 22 of the flap 18 freezing to the edge of the outlet opening 23.

The body 22 is latched with the aid of hooks 24 molded as a single piece to a plate 23, which forms a single piece with a shaft 26 running across the sectional plane. A control facility (not shown here) drives the shaft 26 by way of known means, for example a motor or electromagnets, to open the flap 18 from time to time. When the flap 18 is opened, it is pivoted about the axis of the shaft 26.

A small quantity of condensation water 19 has collected in the lower region of the ice chute 9 and cannot initially flow away because the flap 18 in the closed position rests against the outlet opening 23 with a seal (not shown) running around the body 22.

The lowest point 23′ of the opening of the ice chute 9 projects slightly beyond the edge of the recess rear wall abutting below it into the recess 12, thereby forming a drip edge. A drip edge is likewise formed by a lower edge 28 of the flap 18, on which the condensation water 19 can drip down when the flap 18 is moved a short distance from the closed position.

A cold water dispenser 27 is positioned on the side of the plate 25 facing away from the ice chute 9, being connected firmly to the rear face of the plate 25. The cold water dispenser 27 is connected by a flexible rubber hose 29 to a tank 14 (see FIG. 1) let into the door 2. When the flap 18 is opened by the control facility, the cold water dispenser 27 is also pivoted about the axis of the shaft 26, with the rubber hose 29 being slightly deformed in the process.

An ice dispensing shaft 30 is arranged in an upper region of the recess 12, in the form of a hollow housing made of plastic, which encloses the outlet opening 23 of the ice chute 9, the flap 18 and the drinking water dispenser 27 attached thereto and covers these for visual purposes. The ice dispensing shaft 30 extends essentially over the entire width of the recess 12 and has a closed front wall facing the user of the ice dispenser, in front of which a control panel 31 is positioned. On a lower face the ice dispensing shaft 30 has a large circular opening 32, through which ice cubes are dispensed when the ice dispenser is in use or through which water is dispensed when the drinking water dispenser 27 is in use. The ice dispensing shaft 30 is held against walls of the recess 12 with standard securing means, for example by means of one or more screws, which engage in corresponding drilled holes in walls of the recess 12. The securing means are not illustrated in the view shown.

In a region adjacent to the bottom of the outlet opening 23 and extending to a base of the recess 12 walls of the recess 12 are formed by a molded part formed from an insulating body 34 and a watertight layer 46 and a covering part with walls 47, 48, 49, 49′ covering the molded part 34, 36. The rear wall 47 of the covering part fills a rear face 33 of the recess 12, its base plate 48 covers a base 38 of the recess 12 and its side walls 49, 49′ (not shown here) cover side walls of the recess 12. In the illustrated embodiment the covering part is embodied as a cohesive single-piece component 47, 48, 49, 49′ but in an alternative embodiment it can also be made up of the individual walls 47, 48, 49, 49′ joined together.

With the exception of the recess 12 the entire front face of the door 2 of the cooling device is covered by a décor panel 51, which tailors the device visually to the user's requirements. The décor panel 51 lies flush at a visible surface with outer edges of the base plate 48 and side walls 49, 49′ of the covering part and with a surface of the control panel 31.

In a rear segment of the ice dispensing shaft 30 facing the opening 23, 23′ of the ice chute 9 and arranged below the opening 23, 23′ an essentially tubular passage 35 is molded onto said ice dispensing shaft 30. At an upper end facing the ice shaft 30 the passage 35 has an inlet opening 36, which is arranged directly below the lowest point 23′ of the outlet opening 23 of the ice chute 9.

The passage 35 extends down from the inlet opening 36 into a gap formed by the rear wall 47 of the covering part and the molded part 34, 46 and opens at a lower end into this gap, which forms a condensation water channel 37. The condensation water channel 37 extends along behind the panel 47 of the recess rear face 33 to below the panel 48 of the recess base 38.

If the flap 18 opens for a brief moment, for example due to the user opening and closing the door 2, during which process a higher pressure results in the cooling device and escapes through the flap 18, the condensation water 19 runs through the gap formed by the lower edge of the outlet opening 23′ and the flap 18 and flows downward. Since the inlet 36 to the passage 35 is arranged directly below the lowest point 23′ of the outlet opening 23 and is molded so that condensation water drips reliably into the inlet 36 from the drip edge at the lowest point 23′ of the opening of the ice chute and at the lower edge 28 of the flap 18, the condensation water 19 is necessarily collected from the inlet 36 so that it flows into the passage 35 and is conducted there into the condensation water channel 37 behind the panel 47 of the recess rear face 33.

A cable groove 39 is formed in the molded part 34, 46 in the region of the recess base 38, running from the rear face 33 of the recess 12 in a roughly central manner forward over the recess base 38. A supply line 44 for the ice dispenser and cold water dispenser extends in the cable groove 39. The supply line 44 runs out from a cable channel 42 rising on a front face of the door 2 through the cable groove 39 in the direction of the rear face of the recess 12 and is conducted in a gutter 50 in the molded part 34, 46 over a side wall of the recess to the tank 14 (not shown in this view), which the supply line 44 supplies with drinking water and to electrical connections of the ice dispenser and drinking water dispenser, for which the supply line 44 has power cables. The gutter also forms a seepage barrier, preventing the penetration of dripping water from the channel 37 between the side walls 49, 49′ of the covering part and the watertight layer 46 to the outside of the door.

Traverses 40, 40′ are arranged on both sides of the cable groove 39 on the surface of the molded part, of which in the diagram in FIG. 2 only the traverse 40′ on a side of the recess 12 facing away from the observer is shown. The traverses 40, 40′ extend in a slightly oblique arrangement in each instance between the cable groove 39 and the panel 49, 49′ of the side walls of the recess 12. Since the condensation water runs down to the base at any points between the condensation water channel 37 formed by the panel 47 and the molded part 34, 46, it can enter the region below the panel 48 of the base 38 behind the entire width of the panel 47. The traverses 40, 40′ here form barriers for the condensation water and force the condensation water to drain into the cable groove 39. The traverses 40, 40′ are applied to the base 38 in the manner of a hot melt adhesive coating. In alternative embodiments the traverses 40, 40′ can also be adhered to the base as separate parts or can already be molded to the base 38.

FIG. 3 shows a section through the recess 12 along a plane A-A marked in FIG. 2.

The walls 47, 49, 49′ of the covering part shown in cross section cover inner faces 33, 45, 45′ of the recess 12. The base plate 48 and side walls 49, 49′ of the covering part project out forward beyond a front edge of the recess 12, since the covering part lies flush with the surface of the décor plate 51 (not shown here) which is to be applied to the front face of the door 2.

Parts of the rear wall 47 and side walls 49, 49′ of the covering part rest against the watertight layer 46 of the molded part 34, 46. In the region of the rear face 33 of the recess 12 the rear wall 47 together with the layer 46 forms the condensation water channel 37, with the gutter 50 formed in the molded part 34, 46 and holding the supply cable 44 forming a seepage barrier for the condensation water 37 outside the channel 37. The diagram in FIG. 4 shows the cross section in FIG. 3 with the panel 47, 48, 49, 49′ being removed from the recess 12, so that the watertight layer 46 of the molded part is visible on the base of the recess 12.

In this view the traverses 40, 40′ are visible, being arranged on both sides of the cable groove 39 let into the molded part 34, 46, in order to conduct the condensation water flowing out of the condensation water channel 37 in the region of the rear face 33 of the recess 12 specifically into the cable groove 39. At a front edge of the base 38 the cable groove 39 opens into a cable channel 42, which conducts the condensation water further down in the region of the door 2 of the cooling device.

The lower part of the cable channel 42 is shown in FIG. 5, which shows a partial view of the door 2 from the front. The front face of the door 2 here has not yet been covered with a décor panel, the diagram showing the door 2 in an uncovered state.

The cable channel 42 extends along the front face of the door 2 from a lower end of the recess 12 to beyond a lower edge of the door 2. The cable channel 42 is embodied as a closed plastic profile with a rectangular cross section and is embedded in correspondingly molded depression in the door, so that a front face of the cable channel 42 lies flush with the front face of the door 2. The supply line 44 conducted in the cable channel 42 does not fill the entire cross section of the cable channel 42 so that there is sufficient space present in the cable channel 42 to allow the flow of condensation water.

At a lower end which projects down over the edge of the door 2 the cable channel 42 has an elongation 43, which projects at a right angle and serves primarily to guide the supply line 44 in the direction of a hinge (not shown) arranged on the edge of the door 2, by way of which hinge the supply line 44 is guided into a body of the cooling device.

In the region of the elongation 43 the cable channel 42 is not molded in the manner of a closed profile but forms a tray which is molded onto the profile and is open at the top, in which tray the condensation water running down through the cable channel 42 collects. Because of its arrangement below the door 2, the elongation 43 is exposed to waste heat from a compressor (not shown) of the cooling device, so that the elongation forms an evaporation tray for the condensation water. The dimensions of the evaporation tray 43 are selected so that the condensation water collected there can never overflow and a sufficient quantity can evaporate so that the condensation water is generally discharged in a maintenance-free manner.

The décor plate 51 to be applied to the front face of the door 2 extends down to beyond the lower end of the cable channel 42 so that the cable channel 42 and the evaporation tray 43 are completely concealed.

The view in FIG. 6 shows a schematic diagram of a lower region of the door 2 with an alternative embodiment of the evaporation tray 43, viewed perspectively from below to a rear face of the door 2.

The décor plate 51 is secured to the front face of the door 2, projecting down beyond a lower edge of the door 2. The downward cable channel 42 concealed between the front face of the door and the décor plate 51 in the region of the door 2 also projects down beyond the lower edge of the door 2. In this embodiment the evaporation tray 43 is not molded onto the cable channel 42 but is secured as a separate component below the end of the cable channel 42 to a rear face of the décor panel 51. The supply cable 44 exits from the cable channel 42 at a lower end and is guided down into the evaporation tray 43, leaving it again at one side of said evaporation tray 43. Because the lower end of the cable channel is few mm from the décor panel 51, it is possible to prevent water flowing over the décor panel 51 into the evaporation tray 43. The clearance of the cable channel 42 is preferably only a few mm greater than the diameter of the cable 44; this prevents dripping off the lower end of the cable channel; instead there is a silent flow along the supply channel 44 into the evaporation tray 43. 

1-16. (canceled)
 17. A cooling device, comprising: a housing having a wall, the wall having an interior; an ice passage extending through the wall of the housing and having an outer end; and a condensation water channel that extends from the outer end of the ice passage downward in the interior of the wall.
 18. The cooling device of claim 17, wherein the wall has an outer skin and an insulating layer, and wherein the condensation water channel extends between the outer skin and the insulating layer of the wall.
 19. The cooling device of claim 18, wherein the insulating layer of the wall has a watertight layer toward the condensation water channel.
 20. The cooling device of claim 17, wherein the condensation water channel is used as a cable channel at least over a predetermined section of a length of the condensation water channel.
 21. The cooling device of claim 17, wherein the wall of the housing has a dispensing recess; wherein the dispensing recess has a rear wall; wherein the ice passage opens into the dispensing recess; and wherein the condensation water channel is concealed behind the rear wall of the dispensing recess.
 22. The cooling device of claim 17, further comprising a flap, wherein the outer end of the ice passage is closed off by the flap.
 23. The cooling device of claim 22, wherein a drip edge is formed by at least one of the outer end of the ice passage and a lower edge of the flap.
 24. The cooling device of claim 23, further comprising a collection region that is provided below the drip edge and serves as an inlet for the condensation water channel.
 25. The cooling device of claim 24, wherein the dispensing recess has a cover; wherein the cover has an indentation; and wherein the outer end of the ice passage, the flap, and the inlet of the condensation water channel are arranged in the indentation.
 26. The cooling device of claim 21, wherein the dispensing recess is structured in a multilayered manner from a molded part and a panel that covers the molded part, and wherein the panel forms the rear wall of the dispensing recess.
 27. The cooling device of claim 26, wherein the dispensing recess has a rear face and a first base, and wherein the molded part extends at least along the rear face and below the first base of the dispensing recess.
 28. The cooling device of claim 27, wherein the molded part has a second base; wherein a cable groove is embedded in the second base of the molded part; and wherein at least one traverse that extends over the second base is arranged on the molded part adjacent to the cable groove.
 29. The cooling device of claim 28, wherein the traverse is attached to the second base by means of an adhesive.
 30. The cooling device of claim 28, wherein the traverse is formed by adhesive.
 31. The cooling device of claim 28, wherein the cable groove opens into a cable channel.
 32. The cooling device of claim 31, wherein the cable channel opens at a lower end into an evaporation tray. 